Power-transmission device.



c. w. wuss.

POWER TRANSMISSION DEVICE.

APPLICAUON HLED AUG. 7. I913;

. Patented Julie 1, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Inventr:

b al C. W. WEISS.

POWER'TRANSMISSION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-7.1913.

' Patented June 1, 1915.

m m. m 0w C. W. WEISS.

POWER TRANSMISSION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-T. 1913.

1 ,141,508, Patented June 1, 1915.

4 SH:EETSSHEET 3.

Inventor:

C. W. WEISS.

POWER TRANSMISSION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7, 1913.

l, 14: 1 .508 Patented June 1, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

hereof.

CARLW. WEISS, F new was, N. Y.

T all whom it may concern Beit'knovvn that L-CABL W. Weiss, a citizen of the United States; residing in the borough of Brooklyn'ofhthe city of New York, in the-county of Kings, 'in the'State of New Yorkjh'a've invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Power-Transmission" Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being'had toth'e accompanying drawings, which form. a part another dpplication for Letters Patent of'the United States filed May -14, 1913,81:- ri'al :No. 767,604, there is shown and de- 'sci ihed a. varizible power tra-nsmission'device of t'he saii1'egeneral'type asth'at to Which'th'e present invention relates. This type of transmission does not comprise toothed gears, is not a frictional drive, i i-the ordin'a iy *iindfsta'nding of that expresslon, is

- nota helt drive and is not hydraii1ic,-yet is capable oi vieldingrany speed ratio between its eit'rernes, is positive and is not sulfiect to loss-of eiiiciencv. The power is transmitted through a nuta'ting' bodywhich receives a rnb'vement of rotation on its own axis which is proportional to the angular displacement of-the axis of rotation with respect to the a. "s of n itation, the speed ratio being therefore varied by varying such a'ngle of dis placement. In the 'present instance the transmission device not only -possesses the characteristics enumerated "above birt has also within itself a capacity for motion, Whereas in -the former casethe movement of the driven part is always the same direction as that of the driver; in the present instance that member of the device which might be termed broadly then'ntating body "has only a partial moveme t of nn't'ati'on and then only When-a variation in the speed ratio is to be effected. body, which is aptly termed a matter, since it is a shi'ftable speed changing or controlling in'e nher and efiects the change of speed ratio, cooperates with a spherical hearing which is operatively connected with one of the two primary elements of the device, the drii'er and the driven part, and has an operative connection with the other of said elements. Means are also provided whereby the relation of thennto'r to the spherical bearing or clutch surface can be varied, that is, whereby the angular distance of the point or line of contact of 'the Water and the spher'i'cai bearing, with respect to the axis-of "specification of Letters Pajm.

rowER -rmns'ms's'ioiw DEVICE.

rotation of the spherical bearing can be changed at'ivill forthe purpose of varying the 's peed ratio. As this point'or line'of contact cnn'be made topas's through-the axisv of rotation, from one side to the other, it is.

Patented June 1,1915. A ncacionmed'au ust'z, 191 Serial 1%. 783,511.

possible tosecu're a reversal ofthedi'rectio'n' of rotation of the driven part with re spec t'othe driver. v In the accompanying drawingsin which are illustrated convenient and practical em bod-imnts of the invention-Figure 1 is'a view of such embodiment in'ele'vation, with a portion of-thecasing. hr'olien'away. Fig. 2 1s a riewin section onfthe plane indicated by. the line 2-2=of Fig. 1. Fig. '3 is a view in section on the plane indicated 'the line 33 of Fig. 2, parts being 'broken h'vvay.

41, 5, 6 and 7 gare diagrannnatic views whlch illustrate, for'the purposeof enabling theopera'tion of the device to be understood more readily, several different positions of the "mentor with respect to the spherical co-v operating 'rne'mber. Fig; 8 is a diagrammatie view, similar. to it, -5, 6 "and 7-, hut representing the position vofthe tm tor tvhenthe carrier is turned 90 fromthe position ihdicated in Fig. 2. Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. '2 but showing a modification of the structure shown in Fig. 2.-

in the embodiment of the invention illustratd in the drawings it may he assumed that power isderi-vedfrom ac'ountershattt a which is mounted in snita'ble hearings in a. portion of the casing "b and carries gears a a which engage severally "with gears'a c which ere-formed on orfsecnred to internallv spherical coiiper'a ting bodies '0 0, vvhich are supported by short shafts 0 mounted in suitable bearings in the casing '1). Power. might be applied in any 'convenientmanner to the short shaft (2 or to either of them and although two are employed for the sake of securing a betteroperat'ionbf the device, as will become more 'clear'ly apparent he'ieinafter, one of such spherical bearing bodies or cooperating bodies Knight be employed alone. Therefore either of the shafts 0 might be considered as'the 'driver or,'since, except for one position, 'power might be transmitted throngh the device froim either terminal element to the other, either shaft 0 might be considered as the driven part. Also supported by the casing I), but at right miles to th'e axis of the shaft 0 is the other terminal element shaft 03, of the device, hich is preferabiyi in the c n n shown, the driven part, although it might be the driver. Upon the shaft dare secured beveled plnions (2, two such gears being pro vided although one might suffice. These pinions are engaged, respectively, by beveled gears f which are-formed on or secured to the mutorg. The latter which is an an nular body mounted as hereinafter described, carries clutch bodies It for coaction with the internally spherical bearing surface of the coiiperating bodies or drivers 0. In the construction shown the clutch bodies h are formed as clutch rollers mounted on short shafts it, the latter being mounted in turn upon grooved rollers h seated in suitable bearings in the mutor g. The mutor is suitably recessed to receive these clutch rollfreely about an. axis which intersects the axisof the coiiperating bodies at the center of'the spherical bearing surfaces. The axis of the shaft 'al also intersects the axis of the co operating bodies at the center of the spherical bearing surfaces. The mutor is mounted I by suitable bearings, so 'as to rotate freely,

angular adjustment about the shaft.

on a carrier la which in turn is mounted on a sh aft cl so that it may receive a movement of The axis of the bearing ofthe mutor g is oblique to the axis of the shaft d,being preferably at an angle of about 45 with respect thereto, that angle being aboutthe largest which is possible within the-limits of practical construction. The carrier is suitably recessed, as at k, to receive the pinions e and has at one*or at each end a sleeve is which has a bearing-inthe casing. b. At one end the carrier kmay have secured thereto a handle 1 by which, the angular position ofthe carrier maybeadjusted, the handle having a latch Z for. en'ga-gementwith a notched sector I) which is'secured to the casing 12.

In describing the operation of the device it maybe assumed that the internally spherical bearing or cooperating body is a complete'sphere as indicated in Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, and that; it rotates upon the axis as w in the direction indicated by the curved arrows. If it be now assumed that the mutor 9 stands in the position represented in Fig. 4, with its axis coinciding with the axis a: a:

of the spherical bearing and with its clutch members in contact with the spherical bearing at its equator y y (which is a purely with its axis at right angles to the axis of the eo perating body b and coincident with the axis of the shaft- (Z, then thetwo clutch bodies which contact with the cooperating body in the axis of rotation will be station ary and each of the other clutch bodies will rotate on its own axis without producing any movement of theinutor itself, the path described by each stationary clutch body on the rotating spherical bearing surface being a circle of the sphere parallel with the equator. The position of the mutor indicated in Fig. 6 is also purely theoretical and practically impossible since it cannot be seen edgewise except when it occupies the position indicated in Figs. 5 and 7. The true presentation of the mutor to the eye at this time is indicated in Fig. 8. If it be assumed that the mutor is in an intermediate position on one side of thepolar axis m 00, as shown in Fig. 5, then, as will be obvious, the mutor will receive a movement of rotation about its own axis with a speed which is in termediate between the zero speed of the position indicated in Fig. 6 and the theoretical maximum speed of the position indi cated in Fig. .4. At the pointwhere each clutch body approaches most closely to the polar'axis of the coiiperating body it will have, at that mathematical instant, a speed which is equal to the circumferential speed of the point of the coiiperating body with which it is at thatjnstantin contact and it will have no movement of rotation on its own axis, but for every other posltion each" clutch bodywill have a movement of rota tion on its own axis which increases with its proximity to the equator of the c'oiiperating body. If the mutor be shifted to a position on the other side of the axis of the cofiperating body, as indicated in Fig. 7, then, as will be readily understood, the direction of rotationwill be reversed. In the theoretical position indicated in Fig. 4 each clutch body has no movement of rotation on its own axis while the mutor itself rotates on its axis at the maximum speed; that in the position indicated in Fig. 6 each clutch body except that one which contacts with the coi perab ing body in the axis'of rotation of the cothe driven part cooperating body-is expended partly in rotating each on its own axis and partly in producing, through the clutching action of the clutch body with the cooperating body, a movement of rotation of the mutor on its own axis. For any given angular position of the mutor the relation of the two components of the forcewhich acts upon the clutch bodies varies with the position of the particular clutch body between the pole and the equator and is constantly changing with the movement of the particular clutch body about the axis of the mutor, the component which produces rotation of the clutch body on its own axis being maximum when the clutch .body is at the equator and decreasing as the clutch body approaches the pole, while the component which produces movement of the clutch body aboutithe axis of the mutor increases as the clutch body approaches the polar axis. As the circumferential speed of the point with which a clutch body is in contact decreases as the clutch body approaches the polar axis, the net result is a uniform movement of rotation of the mutor about its own axis, the rate of which is dependent upon the angular position of the mutor about the axis of the carrier on which the mutor has a movement of nutation.

The movement of nutation of the mutor is not constant nor complete, but is determined by the movement of the handle Z as already described.

The movement of rotation of the mutor, varied as already described, is imparted to the di-iven shaft (1 through the gears f and the pinions e, as already described, so that the speed ratio between the driver 0 and d is determined by adjust ment of the handle Z. The position of the handle represented in Figs. 1 and 2 yields a maximum speed of the driven part d, or a minimum speed ratio, with movement in one direction; movement of the handle to a position at right angles to that shown in Fig. 1 yields aminimum or zero speed of the driven part; and a further movement of the handle through 90, or through 180 from the posi tion shown in Fig. 1, yields a maximum speed of the driven part but in the opposite direction.

It will be obvious, as already indicated, that for all angular positions which yield zero speed and the positions adjacent to it on either side, power might be applied to the shaft (1, yield ng a speed of rotation of either shaft 0 or of the shaft 0;, which would then become the driven part or parts, greater than the speed of rotation of the shaft d. It will also be obvious in the Zero position of the mutor each clutch body at the polar axis of the cooperating body would act as a positive clutch to prevent rotation of the mutor on its own axis.

clutch body in contact therewith.

. It is obvious that a single cooperating body, less than a hemisphere, might be employed alone, although it is obviously desirable to employ opposite cooperating bodies asshown. As it is practically impossible to let either cooperating body, in the construction'shown in the drawings, be a full hemisphere, there must necessarily be a gap between the edges of the two cot'iperating bodies over which the clutch bodies must pass. This is undesirable but does not constitute a serious ractical difficulty since a considerable num er of clutch bodies may be mounted on the mutor so that only a small portion of the clutch bodies are out of contact with the cooperating bodies at any given time.

In the modification shown in Fig. 9 the two nearly "hemispherical shells 0 a ove re ferred to are replaced by a single shell 0 which is more than a hemisphere and is secured to a shaft 0 which may be regarded as the driving shaft. A driven shaft d in this instance is shown as carrying a beveled pinion cl which meshes with a beveled gear d. It is (placed, not at right angles to the axis of the rivin'g shaft 0, but obliquely with respect thereto and carries, as before, two beveled pinions e which are engaged respectively by beveled gears f formed on or secured to the mutor g. The latter, as before, carries clutch rollers h, mounted on short shafts h for coaction with the internally spherical bearing surface of the cooperating body or driving shell'c Each clutch roller has a limited movement in the direction of itsaxis on a. chord of the arc of tlfe mutor and the rollers are retained by a shield z'. The mutor, as before, is mounted so as to rotate freely about an axis which intersects the axis of the driving shaft at the center of the spherical bearing surface of theshell 0 and is mounted on a carrier is which is suitably recessed to receive the pinions e and has a sleeve {c which has a bearing in the casing" and has secured thereto a beveled gear which is engaged by a beveled gear Z on the controlling shaft Z by which the carrier is rotated about its axis for the purpose of.

placing the mutor in the required position within the shell 0. It will be understood that the operation of this form of the transmission device is substantially the same as that of the form previously described. When the mutor is in the position shown in Fig. 9, which is theextreme reverse position, the mutor is rotated at slow speed, that roller h which is nearest in position to the axis of the shaft 0* at any instant having a movement substantially in the direction of its axis and at a speed which is'determined substantially by the distance of its line of contact from the axis of the shell. .The roller which is then at right angles to the roller just referred to will have its movement resolved into a very large component of rotation on its own axis and a correspondingly small component of movement along the circumference of the mutor. 1f the position of the carrier is changed slightly, so that the central plane of the mutor includes the axis of rotation of the shell, the rotation of the motor will cease. If the movement of the carrier is continued until the mutor stands nearly at right angles to the axis of rotation of the shell, all of the rollers la, contacting with the spherical surface near its equator, will have no movement of rotation about their own axes but will revolve about the axis of the mutor at the same speed that of a point near the equator of the shell. he rotation of the mutor on its own axis in any position will be transmitted to the driven shaft (1 and the speed of rotation will be dependent upon the angular position of the mutor with respect to the axis of rotation of the driving shell.

Limitations of construction impose a narrow limit of speed in a reverse direction in the structure shown in Fig. 9 as compared with the structure ireviously described, but in other respects the structure shown in Fig. 9 has some advantages over the structure previously described. especially in the fact that at high speeds all of the rollers carried by the mutor are in contact with the shell, Which they leave only at low speeds.

Various other changes may be made in the details of the construction and arrangement of the mechanisms shown and described herein and the invention. therefore, is not to be limited to the particular construction shown.

I claim as my invention 1. A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element, a cooperating body operatively connected With one of said elements, a mutor, clutch members interposed between the cooperating body and the mutor, and operating connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elements.

2. A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element. a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said elements and having a spherical bearing surface, a rotatable mutor mounted concentrically with the cooperating body and with its axis oblique to the axis of the cooperating body, clutch members interposed between the mutor and the spherical bearing surface of the cooperating body, and operating connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elements.

3. A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element, a coo 'icrating body operatively connected with one of said elements and having a spherical bearing surface, a rotatable mutor mounted concentrically with the cooperating body and with its axis oblique to the axis of the cooperating body, rolling clutch members interposed bttween the mutor and the spheri-x-al bearing surface of the cooperating body. and operating connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elements.

power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element. a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said elements and having a spherical bearing suriace, a rotatable mutor mounted concentrically with the cooperating body and with its axis oblique to the axis of the cooperating body, rolling clutch men1- bers mounted on the mutor and coacting with the spherical bearing surface of the co 'iperating body. and operating connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elements.

A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element, a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said elements, a mutor, clutch members interposed between the cooperating body and the mutor, means to vary the relative angular position of the mutor with respect to the cooperating body. and operating connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elemen s.

6. A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element. a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said elements and having a spherical bearing surface, a rotatable mutor mounted concentrically With the cooperating bodv and with its axis oblique to the axis of the cooperating body, rolling clutch members interposed between the mutor and the spherical bearing surface of the cooperating body, means to vary the relative angular position of the mute. with respect to the co operating body, and operating connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elements.

7. A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element, a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said elements and having a spherical bearing surface, a freely rotatable mutor, clutch members interposed between the mu tor and the spherical bearing surface of the cooperating body,

a carrier upon which the mutor is mounted concentrically with the cooperating body and with its axis oblique to the axis of the cooperating body, and operating connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elements.

8. A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element, a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said elements and having an internally spherical bearing surface, a retatable mutor mounted concentrically with tor and the spherical bearing surface of the cooperating body, and'operating'connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elements.

9. A power transmission device comprisinga driving element and a driven element a cooperating body operatively connected with one of'said elements and having an internally spherical bearing surface, a rotatable mutor mounted concentrically with the cooperating body and withfits 'ax is' oblique to the axis of the cooperating boilyyirolling clutch members mounted 'on'the mutor and coactin with the internally spherical bearing surface of the cooperating body, and operating connections between the motor and the other of said first named elements. 10. A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element, a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said elements and having an internally spherical bearing surface, a rotatable mutor mounted concentrically with the cooperating body and with its axis oblique to the axis of the cooperating body, rolling clutch members interposed between the mu tor and-the spherical bearing surface of the cooperating body, means to vary the relative angular position of the mutor with respect to the cooperating body, and operating connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elements.

11. A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element with their axes intersecting at right angles, a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said'elements, a rotatable mutor mounted concentrically with the cooperating body and with its axis intersecting the axes of the two first nalned elements at their point of intersection and obliquely, clutch members interposed between the mutor and the spherical bearing surface of the cooperating body, and operating connections between the mutor and the other of said first named elements.

12. A power transmission device compris ing a driving element and a driven element with their axes intersecting at right angles,

a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said elements, a rotatable mutor mounted concentrically with the cooperating body and with its axis intersecting the axes of the two first named elements at their point of intersection and obliquely, clutch members interposed between the mutor and the spherical bearing surface of the cooperating body, means to vary the relative angular position of the mutor with respect to the cooperating body, and op rating connections between the 2 E01 a2 ofsaid first named ca.

13. A power transmission device comprising a driving element and a driven element with their axes intersecting at right angles, a cooperating body operatively connected with one of said elements, a rotatable mutor mounted concentrically with the cooperating body and with its axis intersecting the axes of the two first named elements attheir point of intersection and obliquely, clutch members interposed between the mutor and the spherical bearing surface of the boopersiting body, a carrier upon which the mutor is 'rotatably mounted, and means to vary the relative an ,ular position of the carrier about its ax s. 44. A power transmission device comprising a driving shaft, an internally spherical shell carried therewith, a driven sliaft sit right angles with the driving shaft, a carrier mounted on said shaft and angularly adjustable thereon, an annulus freely rotatable on the carrier, driving connections between the annulus and the driven shaft, and clutch members interposed between the annulus and the internally spherical shell.

15. A power transmission device comprising a driving shaft, an internally spherical shell carried therewith, a driven shaft at right angles with the driving shaft, a car- 16. A power transmission device comprising a driving shaft, an internally spherical shell carried therewith, a driven shaft at right angles with the ob .ig shaft, a carrier mounted on said shaft and angularly adjustable thereon, an annulus freely rotatable on the carrier, driving connections between the annulus and the driven shaft, in

cluding a beveled gear formed on the annulus and a beveled pinion mounted 'on the driven shaft and in mesh with said beveled gear on the annulus, and clutch members interposed between the annulus and the internally spherical bearing.

17. power transmission device comprising a supporting casing, a countershaft mounted in the casing and having gears thereon, internally spherical shells mounted in said casing to rotate upon axes parallel with the countershaft and having gears formed thereon to mesh with the gears on the countershaft, a driven shaft extended through the casing at right angles with, the

countershaft, a carrier sleeved loosely on gear of the driven shaft, and clutch bodies interposed between the annulus and the in ternally spherical shells to cooperate therewith.

18. A power transmission device comprising a supporting casing, a countershaft mounted in the casing and having gears thereon, internally spherical shells mounted in said casing to rotate upon axes parallel with the countershaft and having gears formed thereon to mesh with the gears on the countershaft, a driven shaft extended through the casing at right angles with the countershaft, a carrier sleeved loosely on the driven shaft, an annulus mounted to rotate freely on the carrier with its axis oblique to the axis of the driven shaft, a gear secured to the driven shaft and a gear secured to the annulus and in mesh with the gear of the driven shaft, clutch bodies interposed between the annulus and the internally spherical shells to cooperate therewith, and means to vary the angular position of the carrier about the driven shaft.

This specification signed and witnessed this fourth day of Au st A. D., 1913.

ARL W. WEISS. Signed in the presence of B. GREELEY, WoRTHmGToN CAMPBELL. 

